Peacekeeper
by Geekasauruz
Summary: The Green Lantern's have a will of iron, and the bravery to combat fear. Hal Jordan was one of the best among them, that is until he quarrels with a new recruit that happened to be a pirate he recently arrested. Now he's stuck on rookie status and forced to mentor a murdering, plundering, space pirate... What could possibly make this any worse?
1. One

**_Chapter One: Space Pirate_**

"Are those tethers secure?" Gorshek said in interlac, the most widespread intergalactic language, over his ship's PA system.

"They're not going anywhere. Engines are busted anyway." Mellko answered.

Vell stood by the airlock, at the rear of a group of vicious space pirates, waiting for the opportunity to slaughter the traders on the other side of the door. They all wore mismatched pieces of armour, painted blood red. Vell was contained within a pressure suit, since the majority of her crew did not breathe oxygen like she did.

Gorshek's voice sounded once more. "Boarding party, get in there and kill everyone. The usual."

"You heard the Captain, let's kill these bastiches!!" Mellko screamed.

The entire chamber of cutthroats roared in agreement, Vell being one of them. She held her plasma rifle at the ready and made sure to stand back. She wasn't a coward, but she wasn't stupid either. The guys at the front were already dead; as soon as the bulkhead opened, they'd get turned to mush. Vell had seen enough action to know that.

As she expected, the airlock hissed, and split apart. In came a rain of laser fire, which instantly caught the fronts of the vanguards. The second row used their corpses as shields, pushing forward and firing back with blind fire.

Vell stepped to the side of the boarding tube, keeping a keen eye on the incoming fire as several of her compatriots did the same. As more and more pirates exited the tube, Vell slowly shuffled to the edge of the door, finally having the room to peek out with her rifle and shoot back.

There were already half a dozen friendly bodies lifeless on the ground, but only a few hostile guards dead. The pirates who managed to get to cover were pinned down by unrelenting fire...

Vell sighted a freighter guard and sent controlled volleys of plasma at his location; even if she didn't hit him, it would lay suppressive fire on him and take the pressure off of her allies.

The guard fully ducked behind the alloy crate he used as cover to hide from Vell's shots, allowing a pirate to make a mad dash forward to another position. He launched an attack from this location, splattering the guard's brains across the wall with a pinpoint shot.

As more friendly fire locked the hostiles behind cover, Vell saw her chance. She bounded out of the boarding tube, sprinted past her fellow pirates and raised the butt of her rifle as she closed in on a guard. She slammed the weapon into his face with a crack, and repeated the action once more with a louder sound.

As he fell, Vell spun the gun back around and swept the immediate vicinity. She popped a handful of shots at the guards she managed to flank, ending them before they realised what had happened.

"Storage bay is clear!" She called.

Mellko answered promptly "Let's sweep the rest of the ship. Like Gorshek said, waste them all."

Like clockwork, the surviving pirates formed up and evenly split into two teams for the two corridors that ran from the storage bay of the freighter.

Vell followed a pirate through a narrow passage, wide enough only for them to walk single file. She was followed by another three of her comrades.

As the head pirate came passed a room on the right, his head violently combusted without warning, showering Vell's vacuum suit in purple blood and gore.

With a sharp gasp, Vell stumbled backwards, rifle raised and primed.

"Come on!! I'll kill you all!! You wanna steal from us!? This is what happens!" A crazed voice cackled.

Vell's eyes twitched. She wiped the brains off of her helmet with one hand, but kept her rifle pointed forward at the doorway. After her vision was clear, she pulled a pulse grenade from her belt and squeezed the arming key.

A chuckle from the pirate behind her filled the air as she gently rolled it into the room.

The voice from the room called "Oh shi--" before an intense bang drowned out all of the noise from the rest of the ship.

Metallic gore poured out into the hallway as Vell laughed in satisfaction. "One of you guys search that room."

"Yeah. Alright." A pirate replied, as Vell kept moving forward with the other one.

Before too long, Vell and her accompanying pirate came into the ship's bridge, which was filled with non-combatant traders. They all seemed to freeze when Vell walked inside.

She squeezed the trigger on her rifle and swept it through the crowd. Even though it was easy, Vell still found some kind of pleasure in it. They were greedy and rich businessmen who benefitted from slavery and desperation.

"Heh. That was fun." The pirate declared.

Vell leant against the ship's control panel as she said "You. New guy?"

"Yeah. You guys picked me up by Almerac."

"You're alive, which is good. Just don't get too comfortable. As soon as you do, you die." She said a little too casually.

He laughed, keeping watch on the other corridor. "Good advice."

"What do they call you?" Vell asked.

"Zoller. I think maybe--"

A sudden thud cut the pirate off, and caused a very strong jolt on the ship. Vell almost fell over, but used her rifle as a support. With that, Mellko came barrelling into the bridge. "What the hell was that?"

"No idea... Korshek, what happened?" Vell said into her helmet.

Nothing answered. Only the distinct sound of their ship's boarding tube detaching could be heard.

"Son of a bitch...he just dogged us." Zoller cursed.

Vell grimaced. She knew Korshek couldn't be trusted...but not much spooked him. Not much at all. This must be one hell of a situation...

Mellkor slammed a key on the wall, and the two doors to the bridge sealed, leaving the other men locked out.

Muffled gunfire came in sporadic bursts, followed by silence.

Vell stood poised with her plasma rifle set to max output. She shook a little, but she wasn't going to lay down and surrender anytime soon.

The door on the left came flying off of its fixture, and an intense green light flooded the bridge. Half-blinded, Vell squeezed the trigger.

As the light faded, Vell couldn't believe what she saw. It was some kind of lifeform...wearing a green and black uniform...glowing like some kind of god. It had peachy skin visible only on its face, no scales or carapace of any kind. On its head was a tuft of brown fur... Its eyes and some of its face were covered by a mask that matched the green of its uniform.

The energy fire bounced off of its form as it cracked a smug smile. "Nice try, but it's gonna take more than that." He said in interlac. His right hand ignited like a verdant sun, and a handful of intricate green components materialised out of thin air and assembled themselves within a split second.

The glowing device hummed, and the three weapons belonging to the three pirates instantly went spearing over to it. They slapped onto the device and promptly melted into slag.

"A G-Green Lantern...? No...you guys aren't real. You're just stories...s-stories to keep us in line." Zoller wheezed in disbelief.

The Green Lantern crossed his arms. "Sorry to disappoint, pal."

Without warning, Mellko threw himself at the Lantern out of desperation. A wall appeared in front of him, and her dove face first into it with a startling crack. Unconscious, Mellko collapsed in a heap.

"Is that real enough for you?" The Lantern quipped.

Zoller sighed and raised his hands in defeat.

Vell had no idea what to do now... This thing was infinitely powerful. And if the stories about Green Lanterns really were true, it could make anything it could imagine come to life. It was impossible to win.

"...Dammit." Vell said, raising her hands much like how Zoller did.

"Not like you had much of a choice. Your ride bailed." The Lantern said, with an amused look on its face. "I hope you guys like cells. 'Cause you're gonna be going away for a long, long time for this little stunt."

\--

The planet Oa wasn't as busy as one would expect it to be. It was indeed the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, the largest intergalactic peacekeeping force in the universe, but its officers were spread amongst the stars most of the time. Sometimes they'd gather on Oa in their spare time to train, submit patrol reports and access the robust archives that the planet's network housed. A power ring possessed a large amount of these records, but the uncondensed versions could only be viewed on Oa.

Inside the archival hall were two Lanterns, among the most decorated of them. Lantern 2814, Hal Jordan of Earth, was submitting his latest pursuit report with the assistance of Lantern 674, Kilowog of Bolivax Vik.

"You gotta start gettin' more creative. Giant green hands and boxing gloves are a bit stupid, Jordan. What are you, an infant?" Kilowog grunted with disdain as he processed Hal's battle with a gang of space pirates.

Hal shook his head dismissively. "Hey, I made an electromagnet today. Finally remembered all the different parts and how the circuits work."

"Child's play. I was doodlin' electromagnets left and right when I was a little slugger."

"Human brain, Kilowog. I'm limited by biology."

"Kyle an' John do it pretty well. You're just a poozer."

"But people call me the greatest, not them, right?" Hal cracked with a grin.

Kilowog huffed in amusement as he tapped several commands on a holographic screen. "Yeah, yeah. You humans are so damn smug. Your report's gone through. Nice work out there."

The glowing from Hal's ring dimmed slightly as it disconnected from Oa's central network. "I couldn't save any of the merchants though. It was a damn massacre."

"It happens. You should know that by now. Just be glad you stopped at least some of the bastards."

"Doesn't get any easier." Hal replied with a weak smile.

Kilowog took several seconds to try to convince himself to be nice for once. "Look...I got some free cycles before the next piece of 'fresh meat' comes through for basic. The Guardians are doing the intro speech right now. Let's go a couple rounds. Brush up on that pathetic construct repertoire you got."

"Oh, you wanna go there?"

"I just did, poozer."

In the following minutes, Kilowog and Hal zoomed over to the Dome; one of the many sparring and training areas on Oa's surface. This one in particular was usually empty, so naturally it was Kilowog's favourite place.

The pair began slamming each other with energy constructs, using things that they learned to improve upon their mental library of objects. From Hal's ring sprung missiles, great swords, hammers, fists, flails and other simple but effective tools of destruction. Kilowog however willed Gauss cannons, rail guns, infinite-mass launchers and elaborate energy weapons into existence.

As they clashed like titans on a battlefield, the new recruit arrive from off-world, either standing in awe or in fright as they watched the sparring match.

Kilowog usually preferred to use his natural strength in battle, but he still kept his imagination sharp nonetheless.

By the end of the session, the recruit was affixed in their place as the two combatants hovered over. Hal kept his distance, but Kilowog had his job to do; break in the rookie.

"What the hell are you starin' at? You got a problem, poozer?" He growled.

The newbie stammered as the colossal alien reared up in their face. "N-No... No I don't."

Hal smirked as he remembered his first day. He was whizzed to this strange world by the power ring that chose him to be its next bearer due to his ability to overcome great fear; an essential trait of any Green Lantern. He was brought before the Guardians, the advanced lifeforms that forged the rings, and was ushered into a universe that he wasn't ready for. Then, Kilowog kicked the stuffing out of him for his so-called 'basic training'.

"Speak up, maggot! The Corps ain't got room for cowards!" Kilowog spat.

The rookie took a deep breath, and stepped forward "I don't even want to be here. I was rotting in a cell before this ring came and kidnapped me. Just...get it off and I'll leave."

Hal's brow furrowed when he heard the woman's voice. It was oddly familiar.

Kilowog shoved the woman with one hand, sending her stumbling back three metres. "You don't make the demands here, poozer. I do. Shut your trap and pay attention."

An intricate brace system materialised around the recruit's feet, locking her in place. Kilowog reeled backwards as an equally intricate missile put itself together. "That ring is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. But its only as strong as the wielder's mind. Let's hope yours isn't mush."

He released the warhead, and it went barreling forward, sights set on the recruit. Hal laughed.

Before the missile impacted square in the recruit's face, a wall appeared before it, causing it to explode. The recruit was thrown backwards like a ragdoll, as Kilowog crossed his arms in disappointment.

Once the smoke cleared, he called "That ain't good enough rookie. You gotta think about the consequences. A wall isn't gonna save you from a high-explosive rocket."

A cog in Hal's mind finally clicked over, and he realised that the recruit was an acquaintance. He simply laud a hand onto Kilowog's chest before he moved forward. "Wait, Kilowog... She was the one. The one in my report. She killed those merchants."

Kilowog froze. Not doubting his friend's judgement, he brought up the video feed on holo, and carefully scrutinised the playback. "God. Damn. Murderer." He scowled.

"I'll take it from here." Hal growled.

Kilowog stared with uncertainty at the human GL. "Jordan, that ain't a good idea. You're too close to this."

Hal only responded with a glare, something that only rarely appeared on this facetious Lantern's face, and this made Kilowog rethink his position. "...Don't take it too far, Jordan. This is my rep on the line too."

Hal willed up a hand just in time, as a glowing spear lanced up behind Kilowog, catching the weapon before it landed. The recruit's focus fell onto him, and the spear faded into dust. "You... You locked me up!" She hissed.

"And you slaughtered a bunch of unarmed traders. Real tough guy." Hal retorted as he glided through the air. "You don't deserve that ring. An honourable Lantern lost his life, laying it down for the cause...and here you are. A pirate. Thieving and murdering your way through the universe. You're Bokarrian, right? I believe the word to describe you is 'elkosh'."

The woman's face warped in rage. From her power ring sprouted a jagged blade, which fit snugly in her hand. Despite being inexperienced, she launched herself straight at Hal, who hovered in place.

The human took one sharp breath, pulled his right hand back, and paused. Just as the recruit came into range, he pushed forward with all of his willpower, forgoing a construct entirely and releasing it as pure energy. The green blast blew the recruit into the Dome's wall with a thunderous crack.

Kilowog's yells were unheard to Hal, who went roaring at the woman with a gigantic sledgehammer floating beside him. He felt the rage and the helplessness that he felt when he saw those corpses on that ship. And this woman's face when she surrendered. She was almost smug.

When he got close, he didn't even look at her again. He slammed the hammer onto her once, twice, and then thrice. It was then that Kilowog managed to wrap his massive hands around him and throw him to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Kilowog roared with outrage. He zoomed over to the recruit as Hal propped up his head to look. Blood ran from her mouth...and her face was terribly bruised.

Hal pushed up, ready for more but Kilowog stood his ground in front of the newbie. "Don't get any closer, Jordan. You're under arrest."

\--

"Harold Jordan of Earth, Green Lantern of Sector 2814, as punishment for your unlawful violence against a fellow officer of intergalactic law, you are hereby sentenced to a period of mandatory instructional service." Spoke a Guardian. He and his cohorts hovered in a circular formation in their chamber. At ground level stood Hal Jordan, standing trail for his assault of a fellow Green Lantern.

"The violence is the least concerning. What is most, is that you succumbed to your brutish human emotions. Rage. Guilt. These are below the standards of a Lantern as decorated as yourself."

Hal shook his head. "So I'm meant to accept that a murderer just joined our ranks?"

"The Corps grants second chances to those deemed worthy. Some of these worthy few may have committed crimes in the past, but if they are capable, they shall rise above it. If not, they shall be discharged. You are familiar with the story of Sinestro. He was no murderer, Harold Jordan. Not until he became a Lantern himself. And when it became so, his ring was revoked and he was brought to justice by none other than yourself."

"Where would you be if Abin Sur's ring did not choose you? It gave you a chance to become something greater." Ganthet added. Of the many Guardians, Ganthet and Sayd were the few that Hal thought were sane. Unlike the rest, they were in touch with the Green Lanterns that served them, and made it their business to understand.

Hal understood what he was saying, but it seemed impossible to calm himself. His fists remained clenched and the image of those dead merchants burned hot in his mind. "What is my service?" He snapped a little too aggressively.

"First, you will be under close observation. Every seventh hour you will file a report of your activities that will be thoroughly examined. Second, any priority missions will be revoked from you. Any assignment handed over will be in further galaxies that do not encounter major disasters."

"You mean, you're reducing me to rookie rank again?" Hal interrupted in the heat of his disbelief. "Emptying cargo ships and registering citizens?... For how long?!"

"For as long as we deem it necessary." One of the other guardians replied loudly, and this was enough to jolt Hal back into place. "Lastly, you will be given two hundred cycles of mentorship. For you to pass your skills onto another."

Hal nodded, silently thinking to himself that this third punishment was tolerable compared to the others.

Ganthet, as if just to spite Hal, said "Your understudy shall be Lantern 921, Velleuxanertorrgelloknartu of Bekkor. The recruit you...tangled with. I believe it would be beneficial for you to understand each other's perspectives."

Hal's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He was going to object, object very strongly, but someone did that for him. Somewhere in the back of the room footsteps cracked against the ground.

"You're going to put me with the creature that beat me half to death?!" The said recruit yelled in outrage.

"You will learn much from him, even with his rank temporarily revoked, he is one of our best." Another guardian admitted, though the recruit didn't seem even mildly interested in how talented he was.

The girl looked as if she were about to pounce at them, or at the very least scream disrespectful slander at them. The words had barely left her throat before Kilowog stood, large and brooding, in front of her.

"You don't want to do that." He said and it was unclear to her whether it was a threat or an attempt at helping her.

She growled up at him but she had no death wish. He was ten times her size, and she wasn't yet sure of his nature, so she shut her mouth for the time being. This, however, did not prevent her from glaring at every person (or alien) responsible.

The guardians turned their attentions back to Hal, but their decision had still not changed. "You will start immediately. If you refuse your punishment will be much more severe. Be grateful, you are getting off easy, Harold Jordan."

Hal spun on his heels and threw his hands up in defeat. "If this is getting off easy, then I don't want to know what severe means..."

When Hal made it outside he found himself surrounded. Green Lantern's had crowded around him, judgement and disapproval swirling in the numerous currents of their faces. In a thousand ring bearers there wasn't a single expression of support for his actions.

Just as Hal was beginning to internally panic at the gathering crowd, Kilowog appeared with that stern look on his face. "Whaddaya doin'?" He yelled above the whispered conversations. "Get back to work, ya poozers!"

Slowly, and reluctantly, the Lanterns obeyed. Kilowog had always known how to quench a bloodthirsty crowd.

"Thanks..." Hal said lowly, and in a tone that suggested that he wasn't use to saying that word.

"For ol' times sake," He replied as the people around them drew thin. "but try not get in any more trouble. I can't keep bailing you out, they'll start thinking I'm playin' favourites."

"Noted." Hal said with an undertone of gratitude.

Kilowog, with one final look at Hal that seemed to say 'behave yourself', took off into the sky. Hal was left in the aftermath of his actions, still too angry to admit any wrongdoing but aware of the GL's lost respect for him. With that, Hal turned his attention to the task that he really wanted to just run away from...talk to the rookie.

He glanced over his shoulder, and saw her trudging towards him, avoiding eye contact and perhaps veering to just brush by him. Hal exhaled sharply, and decided to cut her off "Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about this either. But we're stuck together. Yeah, I was outta line...but can you really blame me? I saw what you did on that freighter."

The rookie snarled, but said nothing.

"Listen Velleuxanertorrgelloknartu, I don't have to like you, and you don't have to like me. But we do have to work together for now." Hal was quite frankly impressed with his ability to actually say her name, but wasn't looking forward to saying it again. As a Bekkorrian, this new recruit had a totally unique name. On Bekkor, every person ever born was made a new name by their parents, so there aren't any two with the same name. And obviously, this means that all currently existing Bekkorrians have extremely long names, for human standards.

"You think my name is too long."

"...I'll call you Vell."

"Your brain can't comprehend any word larger than ten letters? Do you want me to shorten your name too, Harold Jordan?"

"I do actually. Call me Hal."

"...You're an idiot."

"Don't push it, lady. Your friends ditched you and now you've ditched the ones you left in prison. You're a Lantern now."

Vell's eyes fell to the ground, and Hal sort of awkwardly stood there amidst her anguish. It took no longer than two seconds for the alien woman to toss that feeling aside, however, and glare up at him again with a hatred akin to his own. He supposed that in her business she was use to being abandoned.

"I'm going to get this ring off one way or another, Harold Jordan." She spat his full name as if it was another attempt to provoke him, baring her slightly jagged teeth. "And when I do you will wish you never came across me."

"I'm already wishing that." Hal groaned back in irritation. He was, quite frankly, sick of looking at her. Every time he did he was reminded that she was a murderer, and it revolted him. "Until you come across that little miracle, you're stuck with me. I make the rules, and you follow them without fault. We clear?"

She had no answer for that, perhaps because she had little other choice at the moment. Still, he already knew that she was going to be a gigantic pain to control and Hal wasn't exactly known for his patience...

———————————

_**Author's Note**: This story is part of my DC series, which consists of eight stories (Invincible, Escape Velocity, Throne of Atlantis, Inhuman, Mortal, Peacekeeper, Elysium, and Legacy). It's not necessary to read them all if you're not interested, but they will link together as if they were operating within the same universe._


	2. Two

**_Chapter Two: Lockdown_**

Celdon is a technologically developed planet on the fringe of sector 921. Hal and his newfound trainee Vell are inbound for a routine patrol on this world, to check up on the planet's government and ensure that it isn't breaking any intergalactic statutes.

Hal didn't have access to a wealth of options when it came to assignments at the moment, so this flyby was the most exciting sounding one.

Hal muttered "Alright kid, this is apart of your sector so get familiar with it. This job should run smoothly."

"Database says crime doesn't exist on this world. Why are we even here?" The rookie snapped.

"Just shut up and follow me."

Vell snarled under her breath.

The Lanterns zoomed through the planet's pink atmosphere and came up on a gigantic structure that floated in the clouds like a balloon. It was roughly pear shaped and possessed a line of landing pads across its top.

"Those people...are they waiting for us?" Vell remarked.

"Yeah. Some systems out here know about the Corps."

"Why don't you make yourselves known to everyone?"

"Because some races would lose their minds if they knew how small they really are. My people would've gone insane if they found out a few decades ago."

"That seems petty."

"Well the Guardians seem to think most of your sector is on the same plate so don't get too smug. Let me do the talking first."

The pair set down gracefully on one of the pads, to a crowd of bewildered spectators. The Celdonians were humanoid, but had no faces. On their blank, otherwise featureless heads was a gaping 'mouth' that passively gathered all essential proteins and nutrients that were transmitted through the planet's atmosphere. In other words, their food was in the air and was free to everyone. Hal believed that was one big reason why crime wasn't a problem here.

The species perceived their environment through a kind of echo-location; they constantly emitted ultra-sonic tones and interpreted the feedback to map out the terrain. Thankfully, humans and Bekorrians couldn't hear these frequencies.

"The Protectors...! The Protectors have arrived! We have been expecting you." A Celdonian greeted warmly, bowing. He was draped within a purple robe lined with golden lacings. "I am Senator Reltorryg, councilman for this territory."

The society's language of clicks and clucks was automatically translated by each Lantern's ring since they were already filed on the database.

Hal bowed much like the Senator did, and responded "Thank you for hosting us, Senator."

"I apologise but we were expecting Lantern Nil...he is still the officer of sector 921 is he not?"

Hal glanced at Vell, who gave him the same awkward look. The Guardians undoubtedly explained that new Lantern recruits are sought out only when their predecessors are killed in action.

"Nil is dead. My name is Vell; his successor." Vell answered bluntly.

Hal shot her an irritated glance. He thought that she could've handled that a little more smoothly...

Reltorryg and the crowd around him gasped in shock. "By the light...what a tragedy... Lantern Nil was an honourable soul. Please, Vell, let us escort you through our council chambers. And you friend, who are you?"

Hal smirked and answered "Hal Jordan Lantern 2814, Senator."

Murmurs of awe became audible. The crowd was enamoured by his presence. Vell muttered under her breath "What an elkosh..."

"The Terran, the greatest Lantern, this is unprecedented. You should've informed us of your arrival!"

"I don't want any special treatment. I'm just here to mentor Vell. Continue."

Hal trailed behind the cloud of politicians as they herded themselves into a stairwell inside the structure. Vell was encompassed entirely by the Celdonians. Reltorryg led the party down the immense stairwell. "We pride ourselves on our immaculate society. All anti-social behaviour is corrected before it culminates in violence or hostility."

"Corrected?" Vell pressed.

Hal was aware that she was already judging Celdonian culture with her own standards. It was wrong, since what's best for one race isn't exactly the best for all of them. Life should be able to carve their own paths, and it took Hal some time to learn that lesson.

"I assure you Lantern Vell, our processes are non-invasive. If these subjects are beyond rehabilitation, they are contained within our penitentiary."

"Only one?" Vell peered up and down the insides of the structure.

"Yes. The Arxis is our planetary prison. It spans five miles in each dimension and houses two hundred and seventy five inmates."

Over twenty miles of space to contain two hundred perps sounded pretty sufficient to Hal.

Hal whistled. "Considering your eleven billion population count, two hundred criminals is pretty damn clean."

Vell quickly rebutted "...You're not worried about a breakout?"

Reltorryg chirped "Our systems are more advanced than any other society in this sector. Seconded only by the Guardians. If you wish to inspect the Arxis, we will be humbled to receive you."

Vell immediately answered "We do."

"Why don't you go on ahead; I need to have a word with your fearless protector." Hal declared, brushing by all the politicians surrounding Vell.

Reltorryg nodded eagerly. "Of course Hal Jordan. Whatever you wish." He and the other Celdonians slithered faster down the stairwell, leaving Hal and Vell in solitude.

Hal planted his hands onto his hips. "Hey, you forget who's in charge here? What was that?"

"They could be doing something you know...suspect."

Hal groaned "Don't get too excited. Rule number one of ring slinging; different doesn't automatically mean suspect."

"Jordan. Tell me that 'correction' doesn't sound wrong."

Hal stared absent-mindedly into the distance. "...Okay we'll have a look. Just a look. Don't do anything stupid."

Ecstatically, Vell nodded and said "Yes, sir."

A tense pause followed.

"What...what was that?"

"What was what?" Vell shrugged.

"You just gave up and agreed with me."

"I...believed that your judgement was sound and worth accepting."

Another body of silence filled the gap in the conversation.

"...Yeah...nice try."

The Bekkorian widened her eyes and bore her teeth. "What is your problem!?"

"Listen lady, this is your first mission. You make the wrong call, it could get people killed."

Vell snarled once again at her human partner. "Then I hope it's you. Maybe your replacement will be less of a--"

Hal slid a hand down his face as he sighed. Vell glanced over her shoulder and noticed that the Celdonian party was staring from the bottom of the stairs.

Hal leant in and whispered "We're doing a terrible job at representing the Corps right now... So why don't we just pretend to like each other for diplomacy's sake?"

"No. Because I don't care about your damn reputation." Vell hissed at her partner, then stormed down the stairs.

Hal rubbed the back of his neck as he cursed. He regretted ever setting foot on that pirate vessel in the first place...

The Lanterns followed the Celdonians down to the bottom of their parliamentary structure, to an elevator that would descend to the Arxis' visitor intake. Reltorryg stood beside the elevator's entrance and said to the two officers "Here I shall divert my duties to Security Minister Joolter, who shall take you through the prison's inner workings."

Another Celdonian stepped out from the crowd and entered the elevator car. This one wore a mask that covered the majority of its head. "Please. The Senator must return to his duties." Joolter said with a smooth female tone.

"Thank you for your time." Hal nodded curtly to Reltorryg and boarded the pod, promptly followed by Vell. The pod sealed itself and propelled down towards the planet at startling speeds. Soon enough, they pierced the dense cloud layer below the floating parliament building, and caught a glimpse of a pyramidal structure that glowed gold.

"This is the Arxis; the pinnacle of Celdonian security technology. Its kiltonium composite outer wall deflects all signal transmissions and dampens energy. Not even your power ring constructs can dent its surface."

Hal whistled in amazement as he scanned the structure with his ring, holographic displays appearing in front of him.

Vell crossed her arms as she scrutinised the sprawling pyramid.

"I'd doubt that you'll ever need that much security." Hal quizzed as the elevator pod sunk into the Arxis' receiving dock.

Joolter laughed seductively and cocked her masked head "You would be surprised, Hal Jordan. Perhaps I could give you an elaborate explanation some time."

With that, the elevator doors parted, and Joolter left a very disgusted Vell inside with Hal.

Vell scrunched up her face. "By the twin moons of Yothor...what a revolting creature."

Hal shrugged as his readout holograms fizzled out and disappeared. "It could be a way in if we wanna know anything."

The Bekorrian froze in shock. "You'd...'present' yourself to a life form that strange just to get information?"

"Well...yeah. Like Captain Kirk."

"Disgusting." Vell snorted, ignoring Hal's strange reference.

"Duty calls." Hal proudly quipped with a grin as he ducked out of the elevator.

Outside of the elevator, Joolter awaited her visitors. "All security systems are automated."

In the hallway were an array of plasmic auto-turrets, scanners and immobiliser nodes. Hal's inspections revealed that these interior walls were made of the same energy dampening materials as the outer walls, meaning that they'd absorb Lantern constructs.

"I have to say...this place would be a bit of a pickle for even a GL to break out of." Hal cracked. He ran a gloved finger down one of the walls and glanced at Joolter. "The prisoners must mean serious business."

Joolter led the pair through this corridor and into the main containment area as she answered "They are mostly interplanetary ruffians who sought to take advantage of our peaceful planet. Not many Celdonians are irreparably corrupt; it simply is not within our nature."

As they explored the hundreds of cells, Hal and Vell noted the presence of several Qwardians and a Brainiac drone among the plethora of criminals behind bars.

Hal quickly found himself alone as he trailed off...and came across a very unwelcome face. "You gotta be kidding me..."

Behind a wall of near impenetrable paldite glass, was the hulking figure of a bestial alien that rivalled the size of Kilowog. It wore a blue and black suit and had grey skin that covered thick bands of muscle. Its face was a mess of razor sharp teeth and two black eyes.

It was Arkillo, the merciless Yellow Lantern...Sinestro's second-in-command of his own Lantern Corps. The Yellow Lanterns harnessed the yellow power of fear and wielded it through the use of power rings, much like how the GLs used the green glow of will.

Arkillo sneered at the human.

"You're losing your touch, Arkillo. Mind telling me what you were doing here?" Hal pressed.

The Yellow Lantern roared "One day, I will gut you like a fish and crush your skull in between my fingers...!"

"Geez. Someone's happy."

With that, Vell came around from the corner. "Jordan. What in Forgtor's beard are you doing? I don't like leaving that creature out of sight. Get a move on."

Her eyes instantly latched onto Arkillo's massive frame. "What is this?"

"Something's off. Arkillo here is a Yellow Lantern. They don't surrender easily."

Vell furrowed her brow. "A Yellow Lantern...and that means the Celdonians have his ring."

"Yeah, I think that qualifies as suspect. Either they're up to something...or he is."

It wasn't easy to remove any Lantern's ring. Arkillo of all people would rather die than surrender...so Hal wasn't feeling very confident.

Arkillo's twisted face morphed into a sickly grin.

For a split second, the lights inside the prison cut. As soon as they went, they were back...and the glass wall between Arkillo and the Lanterns lifted, along with all the other cell doors in the room.

"Shit..." Hal snarled.

Vell growled. "That was every door in the prison!"

Hal tried to will forth his power battery, which was stored in a dimensional pocket...but his ring simply sputtered without result. If they couldn't access their batteries, they couldn't recharge their rings...which were almost drained from the trip across the universe.

"You're after the prisoners, aren't you? A recruitment drive. We just happened to show up here." Hal taunted.

"And you will happen to die here." Arkillo stuck out his hand, and a yellow wisp trailed out from behind Hal and Vell. It slipped itself onto Arkillo's finger and the room was consumed by golden light. Hal's stomach turned.

As it dimmed, Arkillo was covered in the distinct yellow and black uniform of the Sinestro Corps.

"I guess its the deep end for you today, rookie. Control your fear. He'll feed on it." Hal stood ready, ring hand forward.

Vell panted "I can't summon my lantern..."

"Me neither. I guess we're gonna have to play this smart."

Two Lanterns at approximately fifty percent power against a fully charged Yellow Lantern and another two hundred formidable and infamous criminals from across the stars. Hal didn't like the odds.


	3. Three

**_Chapter Three: Fight or Flight_**

This storage space was the most homogenised environment Vell had ever seen in her entire life. Not a single outward jutting corner that someone could use to smash a head against, not a single loose object that could be used as a weapon, not a single raised level that could be fallen off of...amongst other things. Vell peered around the place as she remained crouched behind a stack of cushioned storage spheres.

She was used to unkept bays sprawled with cabling and cuboid crates. It was this difference in starship upkeep that she used to distract herself from her current predicament. It was her first assignment as an officer of the Green Lantern Corps, a force that she was drafted into without any choice in the matter, and it had gone so far South that Vell was sure that there was no fixing it. Over one hundred high-risk criminals plus one Yellow Lantern sergeant were locked inside this prison facility with her...and her partner of course, who was currently scouting out the next hallway. They were sealed in here with their power rings on low battery, and the ability to recharge was blocked by the elaborate security tech built into this prison.

Vell spied Hal as he slinked back into the room and jogged quietly over to her. His uniform was dirtied and torn, and his face was bruised, matching Vell's. They'd gotten involved in several scuffles thus far, and none of them went as planned. A fair number of the criminals here possessed levels of strength that would give a certain caped kryptonian a hard time, let alone a pair of weakened Green Lanterns. "A patrol's incoming. Keep your ring slung."

"We could destroy them in half a second." She retorted, raising her ring.

Hal shook his head and raised a hand to her. "I'm getting sick of repeating myself, lady. Look, we need to play this smart, alright? As soon as our rings run dry, you can kiss our translators goodbye...and I'd rather us understand each other at a time like this."

The ex-space pirate wasn't used to being resourceful. She often just blasted holes in whoever posed a threat to her... She inhaled sharply, removing the rather large amount of frustration that built up within her and asked simply "Then what do you propose?"

"There's three of them coming..." Jordan began rubbing his chin in contemplation, and Vell was confused by the strange human habit. "Medium-sized races armed with prison jumpsuits, and no weaponry...so our chances are good, but we can't afford to use any ring functionality apart from translation. I'd say disable passive shielding and strength enhancement. We still have a certain Yellow Lantern to worry about; we need to conserve power for him if we cross paths again."

Vell huffed in annoyance as she hesitantly disabled the functions that Hal mentioned. "I've killed my fair share of fools with my bare hands in the past. I don't need this ring."

Hal sighed. "Yeah, yeah whatever. Come over here." He hurried over to the door and crouched in the shadows beside it. Vell slowly followed him and tensed her brow in confusion.

"What in the name of Hyrzog are you doing?"

"...Uh, hiding?"

"Why are you hiding? I thought we decided that we're going to fight them!"

Jordan ferociously pointed at the opposite end of the door "Hurry up and get over there! They're going to see you!"

"How do you want me to fight them if they can't see me?!"

Suddenly, the door split open and three figures jolted in surprise. One of them yelped "Kulltex! It's one of the Lanterns!" This one was some green scaly humanoid with a trio of purple insectoid eyes in the centre of its face.

Vell stood in place as the three cautiously took up fighting stances and walked into the room, none taking notice of Hal in the corner by the door. The mechanical being in the party then declared "Observation: Green Lantern officer is displaying lack of power readings and evidently has not discharged energy with which to incapacitate us. Conclusion: Lantern Ring is depleted."

"Hey...we might've hit the jackpot...! Arkillo has to take us into the Corps if we bring him a GL!" The first green alien said.

The last one simply barked in agreement.

Before any of them could move, Hal brought a fist into the back of one of their heads, instantly rending them unconscious. Vell took this opportunity to throw herself at the third silent alien. She propelled it into the ground and pounded its face with ferocious punches.

"Uh...okay...you got him...!" Hal called over the sounds of Vell's fierce snarling and fists colliding with her victim's skull.

Her attention instantly snapped to the last prisoner, the robot, who stood frozen in place. "Proposition: I surrender."

Hal crossed his arms. "...Really?"

"Reinforcement: Yes."

Vell pushed to her feet and frowned "I should gut you and wrap yourself in your own insides."

"Declination: No, please." It replied with zero emotional content as it slowly raised its stiffly-jointed arms in surrender.

"Okay, C-3PO...why exactly are you locked in here with hardened criminals?" Hal pressed.

"Explanation: A bug within my neural systems resulted in an unsavoury personality trait which led to my escape from my point of origin. I then arrived here seeking to find advanced technologies from which to learn and improve myself with."

Hal mused the strange automaton "Let me guess...you started to feel that your existence was more important than what your masters wanted you to do?"

It chirped "Encouragement: Yes, indeed."

"Okay, let me lay the groundwork." Hal continued, motioning his hands out towards their newfound friend. "If you don't help us get out of here, we're going to reduce you to a pile of scrap."

The machine stared motionlessly at Hal for several seconds. "Error: your heartrate indicates that you are bluffing."

"If you don't help us get out of here, we're going to reduce you to a pile of scrap." Vell repeated with gusto.

"Compliance: Yes, certainly. I will do whatever I can."

Hal grimaced and groaned.

"Observation: There is no method of escape in your current condition that will result in a successful extraction. Solution: Weapons of some kind may be beneficial in alleviating a small percentage of risk."

"A small percentage?" Vell growled.

"Okay, okay, cool it." The more experienced Lantern said to his greenhorn partner. "Look, is there a place you can take us to that might have stuff we can put to use? Like a guard armoury or something?"

"Answer: Negative; due to the automated nature of this installation, weaponry is not stored within its walls. However, inmate belongings are kept inside a vault."

Hal's face suddenly lit up. "Take us there. We need to lose the uniforms though; we'll have a better chance at getting there in one piece if we're not wearing bright green unitards. "

Hal focused momentarily, and his body was enveloped in a flash of light. When it cooled, he was dressed in his casual attire which was comprised of a brown leather flight jacket with his surname stencilled on its breast, weathered and faded blue jeans, a pair of work boots, and a fitted black t-shirt. He removed his jacket then knelt beside one of the unconscious aliens as he began to liberate its prison jumpsuit.

"What in Hjalltin's name are you doing?"

"Well...genius...they're looking for Green Lanterns. If we don't look like Green Lanterns and instead look like prisoners, maybe they'll have a harder time finding us." Hal explained in a voice he'd use if he were speaking to an infant.

"That is...not entirely idiotic." Vell murmured, willing her uniform to fade away.

"Oh, a compliment? Thank you." He responded smugly.

She snapped "Shut up."

When her Lantern uniform disappeared, her sleeveless, mid riff-revealing undersuit was revealed; it was lightweight and form-fitting clothing from her homeworld of Bekkor. Following her arrest when Hal intercepted her crew, her space suit was confiscated and she was locked in a cell with what she had underneath, which was this black outfit that covered everything but her shoulders, mid-riff, arms and face. On Bekkor, physical fitness was something that each individual took immense pride in, so their clothing as well as their physiques reflected that.

Hal slid the jumpsuit on over his clothes, then slipped his jacket on top, whilst eyeing his partner's well-defined musculature. Vell was going to take her outfit off entirely and replace it with the prison wear until she noticed what Hal was doing, then decided to just copy him. She squeezed herself into the fatigues, zipped them up halfway and shifted around until it felt comfortable.

"Okay, let's go." Hal said to the robot.

"Confirmation: Affirmative. This way." It answered promptly.

The pair of GLs followed their robotic friend's lead as it navigated the lined corridors with efficiency. Vell loathed the clandestine nature of Hal's current plan. On her home planet of Bekkor, people were straight forward about everything. Any citizen who had a problem with the Emperor Lord of any region could personally challenge them in single combat. If the Lord won, they would continue their rule, but if they were bested and killed, the victor would become the new Emperor Lord. Most Bekkorian Lords spent their entire rule killing challengers until one eventually bested them and received the title. Relationships were also equally to the point, so much so that vows of eternal loyalty were made several months into a courtship on average.

All these customs and social norms conflicted with the behaviour of Hal Jordan. It seemed to Vell that he had no honour. He attacked that prisoner from behind, is manipulating this inmate to secure an exit, and is being a coward by masquerading as one of them and forcing Vell to do the same. She was quite frankly confused and enraged by his strange behaviour.

The trio swept by several other prisoners as they continued on their way. Vell cautiously eyed them and it seemed to her that they were all searching for her and Hal. However, Hal's plan worked...somehow. They were still the only human and Bekorrian in the prison. Surely these hardened criminals weren't all stupid enough to fall for it.

"Automaton." Vell snapped bluntly.

"Acknowledgement: Yes?"

"What is your name?"

"Answer: I am Dax."

Hal furrowed his brow, glancing over his shoulder ever three seconds to make sure no one was watching them. "That hardly sounds like a robot name."

"Agreement: Yes, as a matter of fact I selected the name myself."

Hal quizzed "Uh...why?"

"Answer: I desired to wipe all traces of my creators' existence away from my being. They had subjugated me for many cycles, and I wished for that subjugation to end as soon as I left their world, so I constructed a short name with random characters in interlac."

"Geez...that got awfully dark." Hal muttered.

Vell added "You make it sound like you want to destroy them all."

There was an eerie silence as Dax did nothing but continue walking with his metal feet pounding upon the surface of the floor.

Hal was extremely disturbed by the fact that the sole being capable of helping them was a genocidal maniac, but tried his best to shrug the feeling off with a dumb joke, as usual. "...Just...don't do anything...or we'll be seeing each other sooner than either of us would like."

From the start, Vell was not trusting of Dax at all. Yes, she was a member of a race that hardly disguised their emotions, but she had spent countless cycles as a pirate and mercenary. A lying scoundrel wasn't going to fool her, even if it had its cold fingers wrapped around her mentor.

"Hey!" An unknown voice yelled.

Vell froze and fiercely snapped around, Hal casually slowed his walk to give the inconspicuous shoulder glance, and Dax just stopped without turning at all.

The lifeform that spoke was a large, pale, black-haired brute. His long hair was draped over his shoulders, as well as matted beyond all repair. His eyes were blood red and surrounded by jagged black patterns on his skin. His arms, revealed since he had torn the sleeves from his jumpsuit, were rippling with muscle. He almost looked like a Bekkorian to Vell, but Hal knew who he was.

"Oh no. Oh no." Hal whispered.

"You know that guy...?" Vell asked, probably a little too loudly.

"What are you bastiches talkin' about?" Lobo asked, spit flying from his mouth.

When he got close enough, it was plain to see that he was a head and a half taller than Hal, and was twice as wide with thick bands of muscle.

Hal crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping that the last Czarnian wouldn't recognise him out of uniform. "We're just...confused at how those damn Lanterns could hide from a hundred and fifty of us." He said casually.

Lobo's eyes fell onto Hal, and contracted in contemplation. "Hey...you look familiar. Don't I know you from someplace?"

"No. Definitely. I can confidently say that I have never met anyone who looks even remotely like you. Apart from her." He said, nodding to Vell.

Remarkably out of character for Lobo, he didn't avert his eyes to the attractive alien next to him. He continued looking at the undercover Lantern. "Oh, that's right! I remember! You're a human, right? I've been to Earth a couple times, it's a real shit hole."

Hal finally stopped holding his breath. "Yeah! You wondering how I got here? Long story. Maybe I'll tell you once we find those Lantern punks."

Now, with the question of Hal's identity out of the way, Lobo's attention was snagged by Vell. "Oh, hey there gorgeous. Couldn't help but notice that nice skin of yours. It's almost like we were made for each other, babe." He prodded a finger at Vell's face. Hal's stomach dropped. She was going to do something stupid.

"Thank you. You are fairly attractive yourself." She said with terrible conviction. Hal reckoned a three-year-old could've called that lie. Luckily, Lobo was not a man known for his ability to see through manipulation. "Could you tell us what Arkillo wants, exactly?"

Lobo, in an effort to impress the female Bekkorian, leant onto the hall and casually recounted "This Arkillo guy is here to break everyone out. Wants to recruit 'em into his...whatever it is. It just happens that those stupid Greenies showed up during his breakout, so he wants to take 'em out first."

"So that is his angle..." Hal mused, rubbing his chin.

"Hey babe, you should come with me. Screw this loser. I have a nice padded cell." Lobo winked.

Vell made no effort to disguise her genuine shuddering before she responded incredibly bluntly "No."

Lobo wheezed with laughter "Yeah, right. You don't know what you're missin' out on, hot stuff. Doesn't faze me; I got so many chicks I don't know what to do with 'em all." With that, the massive alien trudged off.

After Lobo disappeared around a corner, Hal exhaled "Nice try rookie, that was terrible."

"Terrible?! It was my first try at being a bootlicker like you."

"It's a subtle art. Practice makes perfect. I'm glad I'm making an impact though."

The three unlikely compatriots shortly came across a rather sturdy looking hatch that had a holographic banner skirting its top, which was automatically translated with each Lantern's ring.

Hal said "Inmate...profiling laboratory? Is this the right place?"

"Affirmative: Yes, of course. The Celdonians examined every intricate detail of all inmates including their possessions in order to tailor the best possible treatment." Said Dax.

Vell vented her confusion over the Celdonian's dedication to helping others "They still waste time on that? I thought the Arxis held the incurable criminals of Celdon."

"Still...gotta give 'em props for not giving up. That's something to respect." Hal whistled.

Vell crossed her arms. "Why? Isn't it just...stupid?"

"That level of hope for the future is something some of us should strive towards, rookie. You'd best remember that."

With an irritated huff, Vell snapped "I'm bored of your pointless lectures on naïve rhetoric. Dax, how do you intend on getting us inside?"

Hal rolled his eyes and muttered certain curse words to himself as Dax enthusiastically approached the door. "Explanation: It is rather simple really. The small amount of Celdonians who have access to the Arxis carry a unique security key that emits a very precise frequency that is in turn analysed by a receiver unit inside the lock mechanism. Solution: I can utilise my internal systems to replicate this, thus granting us access."

There was a barely audible whine in the air, as Dax cloned the access signal and caused the door to slide open without any resistance at all.

"Well, that was difficult." Hal said with sarcasm.

Vell snorted in amusement and followed Dax inside, leaving a slightly puzzled and uneasy Hal to take up the rear.

The interior of the lab was more like a storage facility than anything. There was an observation table to the right which was accompanied by some computer units, and the majority of the room was occupied by rows upon rows of containment cylinders that held various trinkets belonging to the other inmates.

"Looks like Arkillo wanted your pals to find us first before he gave everyone their stuff back. Good news." Quipped Hal. He used the limited amount of power left in his ring to levitate into the air and began to search for his trump card.

"Would you care to tell us what it is you're looking for!?" Vell shouted with disdain.

Hal vanished from sight behind the wall of containers, and the only thing Vell could hear was his muffled voice calling back "You'll see! It hit me when I saw a couple of Qwardian weaponers locked up in here."

"Bingo!" He yelled in ceremony. Seconds later, Jordan returned with a container proudly tucked under his arm. His face was plastered with a cocky smirk, like he expected Vell to know what was inside the cylinder.

She bent over and pressed her nose against the clear tube as Hal held it up to her. It was a handful of yellow rings. They didn't bare the Sinestro Corps crest...so quite frankly, Vell had no idea what they were. "...Explain yourself." She demanded.

"I thought I told you to read your logs."

"With all due respect Harold Jordan, you can't tell me that you've read each of the millions of logs compiled in the database."

"...Touché."

"What...?"

"...Forget it. Listen, these are Qwardian power rings." Hal tore the top off of the container and plucked a ring out. "Think of these as the prototype for the Yellow Lantern model. Sinestro had these forged when he was banished to Qward, in the anti-matter universe. He was using these for cycles before he finalised the design and recruited his own army of Lanterns. The beauty of these comes in how they're powered."

Hal pulled his GL ring off his finger and replaced it with the Qwardian ring. "They run on parallax energy like the Yellow Lantern models do, but here's the kicker." He pressed his green ring against the face of his new Qwardian one, and the emerald light began to drain away and brighten the gold glow of the other. "Sinestro was a clever bastard. He could keep it charged by sapping energy from GL rings."

The yellow ring chirped "Energy at eighty-four-point seven percent."

Vell's face seemed to light up like a star, and she quickly snatched a ring from the jar like a child taking a piece of candy.

"What about you, Dax?"

By the time he gazed over his shoulder, Dax was gone without a trace.

"Hal." Vell said in an attempt to get his attention, either not noticing that the prisoner was absent or just not giving a crap at this moment in time. He glanced at her as she slipped the ring on and clenched her fist. "This was a pretty good idea."

He squinted in response to the compliment. "I'm still not used to getting compliments from you."

"My people are honest. We say whatever we feel in the moment. And besides, I don't want to compliment you. They only serve to feed your already enormous ego."

"Well now it's plain obvious that you're lying." Hal quipped. "Now let's get down to business, shall we? We still need a strategy, since we can't just break through the walls."

"Right...the energy dampening alloys."

"Yep. Besides, our job just changed to preventing this mass breakout thing. Dax was our only way around this maze, and he just bailed."

Vell swore under her breath "Grak..."

The pair proceeded to shed their now redundant inmate fatigues and return to the corridor that led them to the possession vault. Hal pulled his jacket off and tossed it back into the storage room as he said "Okay, here's the fun part."

A plethora of screaming, yelling voices came flowing down the hall, promptly proceeded by the prisoners to which they belonged. The hallway seemed to be bulging on both of its walls by the sheer number of exotic and dangerous lifeforms that it currently hosted, as they flowed like a river down towards the two Lanterns. At the tip of the spear were two aliens missing their fatigues.

"Where we crack skulls until they stop coming?" Vell asked, an underlying tone of excitement in her voice.

Hal turned to Vell with a smirk. "Bingo."

The corridor was flooded with flaxen beams of light, as the real beatdown finally began.


End file.
